The Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, has said that the "Rooney rule" has no place in the Premier League. He also said that the controversial 39th game will not happen on his watch.

Regarding the "Rooney rule", which forces NFL franchises to shortlist candidates from ethnic minorities for any top coaching jobs, Scudamore, who was speaking to Talksport radio, said: "We have to make sure the grassroots system in place means there are no barriers or difficulties for coaches coming through. But I only work for the Premier League and, when there are only 20 jobs, you cannot imagine filling quotas. It's impossible.

"I believe in affirmative action. In America it is a different sport and a different country. But if people are good enough, then they will get chances."

Scudamore said he had given up on the idea of staging a 39th round of Premier League games internationally. He said: "Clearly it is not going to happen in our league. It's certainly not going to happen on my watch and I'm not leaving any time soon. I'm not going to be raising it again because I don't think it's worth it in the scheme of things.

"I'm a realist. We floated the idea and said: 'How about playing some games internationally?' I actually thought it was a good idea, and some other people thought it was a good idea, but very quickly the media got on our backs and public opinion really ruled it out.

"It's been with some irony that we've watched the NFL come here in the last few years and people say how fantastic it is that the NFL comes to Wembley. And we've seen baseball open their season in China and now we've got England playing friendlies against Argentina in Saudi Arabia or Switzerland or wherever.

"We reach these 212 countries as it is. We've just done our latest research, and there is about a 4.7 billion TV audience now across the world. The Asia Trophy we had in Hong Kong this year has been fantastically successful. The Premier League, of all the leagues, probably doesn't need to go and do it."